Home remodeling and renovation projects involve the remodeling of internal living spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms as well as external spaces such as gardens, garages, and lawns. U.S. home improvement and repair expenditures have been estimated to exceed 300 billion dollars a year. Homeowners undertake home improvement projects to make their homes more comfortable and welcoming, and to increase the value of their homes. Some homeowners enlist professionals to design or decorate their living spaces. Most homeowners, however, have at least the desire to design or decorate their homes themselves. On the one hand, there has never been a better time for do-it-yourself home improvement. Manufacturers and retailers have made available to homeowners an ever increasing variety of home improvement materials. Unfortunately, most homeowners do not possess the training or experience to adequately select materials from the ever increasing variety of different styles and features.
Some tools exist to assist homeowners in the design or decoration of their home. Unfortunately, conventional tools for designing or decorating living spaces are unsophisticated. They, for example, do not address the problem of finding different décor items that match or harmonize to a particular style. Conventional tools lack the ability to select building materials and décor items with visually common features, such as color or style, which look pleasant together. The current tools further lack the ability to search the whole market for building materials and décor items based on décor style. Homeowners often find themselves overwhelmed over a home improvement project or disappointed of the results.